The Book:
Anywhere For You by Abbie Greaves, 2021
The Characters:
Mary and her missing boyfriend Jim
Her coworkers Ted and Kit
Alice, the reporter
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
The straphangers of Ealing Broadway station are familiar with Mary O’Connor, the woman who appears every day to watch the droves of busy commuters. But Mary never asks anything from anyone. She only holds out a sign bearing a heartrending message: Come Home Jim.
While others pass her by without a thought, Alice, a junior reporter at the Ealing Bugle, asks Mary to tell her story. Many years ago, Mary met the charming and romantic Jim Whitnell. She was certain she’d found her other half, until one day he vanished without any explanation. But Mary believes that Jim isn’t a cad, that he truly loved her and will return—especially because she’s recently received grainy phone calls from him saying he misses her.
Touched but also suspicious, Alice quietly begins her own investigation into Jim’s disappearance, unraveling a decade-long story filled with desire, heartbreak, and hope. With Greaves’s signature warmth and charm, Anywhere for You is a romantic and immensely moving novel about the enduring power of love and finding happiness in unexpected places.
The Review:
The concept of this story is heartbreaking: Mary has waited seven years for the return of her boyfriend Jim, who disappeared one day without a trace or explanation. I was eager to find out what happened to Jim, whether he was still alive and looking for her or if he was gone for good.
I definitely felt for Mary, even if I couldn’t necessarily relate to her. She did what she needed to do to keep on going and deal with her grief. I’m not the type of person to wait for someone for seven years, though! A few of her decisions were questionable to me, but I can’t go more in depth without spoilers. I appreciated that Alice was the one person to see her and want to draw her out of her funk. Kit was my favorite character.
I enjoyed the mystery of this story. The middle seemed to drag a little bit as I waited to find out what happened to Jim, but overall it was entertaining and enjoyable.